Il Borro
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Team Favorites: Il Borro 'Pian di Nova' Rosso Toscana
Meet Clint, of Austin Sales. Clint loves introducing folks to Il Borro's 'Pian di Nova' Rosso Toscana.
Meet Clint, of Austin Sales. Clint loves introducing folks to Il Borro's 'Pian di Nova' Rosso Toscana.... Meet Clint, of Austin Sales. Clint loves introducing folks to Il Borro's 'Pian di Nova' Rosso Toscana.
Team Favorites: Il Borro 'Pian di Nova' Rosso Toscana
The vines of Il Borro grow on the Valdarno hills at the foot of the Pratomagno Mountains in northern Tuscany. The vineyard bedrock is comprised of sandstone, above a base of a loam rich soil on a sandy clay matrix. It was the combination of these rare characteristics that inspired Ferruccio Ferragamo and Salvatore Ferragamo to initiate a winemaking revival at Il Borro in 1995.
The estate currently has 85 hectares / 210 acres of vineyards. Thanks to the alluvial origin of the area, the estate is characterized by a great variety of soils. After soil analysis it was possible to identify and establish the varieties most suitable for each plot. Accordingly, with this philosophy, Cabernet Sauvignon grown on alluvial sand; Merlot on rich clay soil, Syrah on mineral rich stony soils and the Sangiovese, the King of Tuscan varieties, on schist.
All the wines produced at Il Borro share three exceptional characteristics. All the wines have beautiful mouthwatering acidity. All the wines over-deliver for each of their respective price points! All the wines are authentic and estate produced expressing the unique characteristics of where they are grown.
Established more than one thousand years ago, Il Borro has ancient and mysterious origins, now lost in the mists of time. Perhaps the Etruscans founded the settlement, but there is no concrete evidence to support this thesis. What is certain is that Il Borro was a lookout point on the Roman road Cassia, and that they built a fort there, presumably due to its strategic location.
Records show that the Mascagni family owned the castle until 1254, when Marchese Borro Borri, a Milanese nobleman, bought the property. He later became the Mayor of Arezzo. By 1512, the property had passed through his family to Girolamo del Borro. Girolamo was a philosopher and scientist, but it was under the patronage of his son Alessandro, that the Il Borro we know today was established.
Alessandro dal Borro was considered one of the most experienced military leaders of his time and was instrumental in many wars of the seventieth century. He was the Field Marshal General in the service of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Field Marshal of the King of Spain, plus had the right to command the Venetian troops in the war against the Turks, where he gained the nickname “Terror of Turks.” Grateful for Alessandro’s service, in 1644 the Grand Duke Ferdinando II of Tuscany vested him with the title of Marquis and gave him the castle of Il Borro, the fief of Castiglion Fibocchi and the church of San Giustino Valdarno with the power of transmission to his children according to his will.
His family eventually sold the domain and were succeeded by some of the most famous and revered families in Europe: the Medici of Florence, Tornaquinci, the Torriani of Milan, the house of Waldemburg Hohenlohe, and since 1904, the Savoy dynasty. Finally, in 1993, and having visited the property many times, Ferruccio Ferragomo bought the estate from Prince Amedeo, Duke of Savoy-Aosta. Ferruccio’s son, Salvatore Ferragamo, now leads the estate as CEO of Il Borro.
The estate itself lies within the appellation of Val d’Arno di Sopra. The story of this land is deeply rooted in the past so much so that the vocation of certain areas for producing quality wines was legislated in 1716 when Cosimo III de’ Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany issued an edict stating the first official boundaries of Valdarno di Sopra (Il Borro area.) The Val d’Arno di Sopra appellation was established as a DOC in 2011 by the Italian Government, which acknowledged the preciousness of this territory considered as ideal for the production of great wines since the Renaissance. The Val d’Arno di Sopra is on a continuum with the vinicultural tradition at the time of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
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Philosophy
The philosophy is based on a blend of ideas pulling from the wisdom of ancient Tuscan traditions intermingled with a driving force that respects the necessity of modern innovations. Everything produced on the estate is represented by these values. As an example, the renovated 18th century wine cellar links the most modern winemaking facilities with a traditional Tuscan style roof known as “capriate.” The winery also utilizes natural gravity flow to add in the winemaking process. The winery was in fact built with the idea of using this natural gravity flow from the very beginning of the winemaking process all the way to the wine cellar in order to limit the use of pump machinery to enhance the quality of the final product.
The conversion to biodynamic farming at Il Borro went underway in 2015. The aim of this all-inclusive transformation was to help the land regenerate itself, preserving its fertility and so keeping the quality of the wines high. All the wines are made with organically grown grapes and certified by Suolo E Salute. Suolo E Salute is one of the leading monitoring and certification bodies for organic production in Europe. It is the first organic control and certification body in Italy. Suolo E Salute has been one of the founding members of FederBio (Italian Federation of Organic and Biodynamic Agriculture), a member of the European Organic Certifiers Council (EOCC) and is a supporter of IFOAM EU, in addition, is a founding member of ASS. O.CERT. BIO, the National Association of Organic Certification Organizations.
Biography
The head winemaker, Stefano Chioccioli, is widely considered as one of the top three winemakers in all of Italy. He is the consulting winemaker for Il Borro and is responsible for every aspect of winemaking at the estate. During his tenure with Il Borro he has initiated a number of innovative winemaking techniques and gave birth to the idea of the “Petruna” offering. Petruna is specifically a wine made from 100% Sangiovese and vinified in amphorae vessels. The skins are kept in contact with the clay vessel for one year, mimicking the ancient style of winemaking commonly found in the country of Georgia (once a part of the Soviet Union.) Unlike French oak, amphorae doesn’t give the wine notes of tobacco or spices, it focuses more on the fruit notes of the wine.
Having worked with Stefano Girelli for the last two decades, Stefano Chioccioli has worked tirelessly to continue to improve his skills. Chioccioli’s experience is second to none. He has worked for wineries large and small in virtually every winemaking region of Italy and also has extensive international experience, making wines in France and Hungary. His wines have great success internationally and today more than 70 have “tre bicchieri”. Both Robert Parker and The Wine Spectator have scored several Chioccioli wines 100 points.
The CEO of Il Borro is Salvatore Ferragamo. Salvatore Ferragamo is one of Ferruccio Ferragamo’s six children, twin of James, born on the 7th of November 1971, in Florence. Prior to assuming responsibility for the family’s agro-leisure business as CEO, Salvatore worked in the international division of KPMG Peat Marwick in Florence. KPMG is one of the Big Four accounting organizations, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He worked nationally and internationally in KPMG’s audit, finance, and consulting departments.
From 1990 he interned at Salvatore Ferragamo SpA in the marketing and production departments where he planned marketing strategies for the company in Italy and France. He then decided to further his professional training with an MBA degree at New York University’s Stern School of Business, specializing in Finance and International Business.
In 1993 he joined his father Ferruccio Ferragamo in the long and challenging restoration of the ancient medieval village of Il Borro and in the development of the wine business. His love for the Tuscan countryside and great wines drove him, step by step, to the creation of what Il Borro is today. In 2012 Il Borro became part of Relais & Châteaux and Salvatore was made Ambassador with the responsibility of representing the excellence and prestige of the organization.
Wines from Il Borro
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